My Trip North

This past week I was in Northern Uganda.  I was on a promotional tour for a new program being offered at St. Francis Family Helper Programme.  This new service is a workshop for teachers to help them develop alternatives to corporal punishment.  Besides beating, teachers also use both verbal and emotional abuse.  It has been a practice of beating children when they misbehave.  The child lays on her stomach. The teacher may place his foot on either the child’s neck, lower back or the back of the knee to keep the child in place.  Three to ten strokes of a stick is applied to the buttocks, thigh or the bottom of the feet. The number of strokes speaks to the severity of the misbehavior. This is a common practice throughout Africa and is not uncommon among adults as well.  Thieves, when caught, are frequently beaten by those who are near-by, sometimes to death. 

St. Francis Center is trying to alter this practice.  There is an awareness in education circles that this practice of beating should stop and the time is right to bring this thinking into the mainstream.   Once the teachers have received the training, the plan is that the teachers then instruct the parents. The real focus of this effort is alternatives to beating the child so time is spent on classroom management techniques for example.

I was in Gulu for part of the week.  On the way home we passed through Murchison Falls National Park. This is in the West Nile region of the country.  Just after crossing the Nile we saw these elephants on the right. What I didn’t get a picture of was the herd of gazelle that were on the right. 

The rainy season has settled in here and I guess I have acclimatized myself because at 70 degrees I am feeling cold.  It is all gift.  Peace

A Person Named Gift

Gift is a person I heard about in my travels. I will not speak directly about this person’s problems, that would not be appropriate, but I want to speak about the problems and issues faced by young people in Uganda.  In a way, I use the name, ‘Gift’ as a way to illustrate how this land is full of stark contrasts; full of rich meaning and hope.

The term ‘young’ refers to people out of secondary school but not yet married and still living at home.  In the US we send our young away to school or to the armed services where the job of fledging falls on others to some degree.  This too happens in Uganda but not to the extent it occurs in the US.  It is that fledging age when a person finds him or herself and becomes an adult.  These young people enter this time of transition burdened with the past.  Old wars, insurgencies, rebellions and genocides weigh heavy upon these young people’s parents. The experience of trauma is passed on from generation to generation.  The injuries themselves remain with those who experienced them but the effects roll through the ages like a tsunami batters a coastline. 

One case in point is Alcoholism. Alcohol is frequently the drug of choice for those needing to self medicate from the effects of trauma.  Since the trauma is widespread so is the use of alcohol.  So much so that the age of first intoxication is around age 10.  The effects of intoxication frequently lead to domestic violence in the home. The man of the house comes home drunk, expecting meat on the table but there is none, because he has done nothing to earn the money to purchase meat. He was drinking all day.  He becomes enraged and beats his wife and children.  In one village in Northern Uganda the clan elders issued a decree that any man found having beat his wife or children is subject to 100 lashes. This punishment was imposed once, so far. 

Another situation is the effect within a generation.  In Northern Uganda the rebels would kidnap young boys and force them to fight in the rebellion. This rebellion lasted for 25 years. These young boys were forced to kill friends, neighbors and even family members.  The rebellion is over but the effect remains. These boys returned to their villages traumatized and ostracized by the entire village and clan. They are outsiders, living on literally on the periphery of the village. Imagine half of your third grade classmates vanish only to return several years later as hardened murderers; Addicted and relying on a life of crime to survive. Half of a generation lost but still very present as ghosts of a past that all want to forget

Fear of the unknown also plagues most people. So when difficulties such as rebellions occur people here in Uganda return to the land.  The life in a village is known, not always safe, but at least your basic needs can be met.   The known and the communal are comforting and welcoming because it is safe.  Anybody that is different becomes a threat.  For example, let’s say a child is an independent person who speaks his or her mind.  This may not be tolerated.  Physical punishment on children can be severe although there are movements to end such practices, it is still prevalent.  Sometimes the cause of a child being ‘different’ is attributed to demons. People believe in demonic possession.  A child who is unwanted can be labeled demonic so much so that the person, now a young adult, believes it. There is no future for a person with such a label. Getting rid of people by accusing them of having a demon also happens to the elderly.  If an elderly person owns some land and the family wants it and cannot wait until the person dies accusations of possession sometimes is used to drive the person from their land. 

The drunken father who beats his wife and children, the ex-child soldier living off of alcohol and petty crime, the unwanted young person with a ‘demon’ all are Gift to me.  They survive, sometimes barely, on hope and kindness of others.  I see no evil just pain lived out and passed on.  Is there a person named Gift in your life?

Meet Jack

This is Jack.  He is one of three dogs that "guard" the compound at night.  If you call licking and jumping and playing guarding.  He is young, still under a year., The other two shown below are brother and sister and are about three to four months younger then Jack.  The other two are very shy. (Those who know me know my history with shy dogs.) Jack is very friendly and out going and smart as a whip.  I have begun to train him in the basics, like 'sit', 'down' and the biggie 'NO'. Within a weeks time he was trained on the leash! I called him Jack (and by the way animals in Uganda are to serve a purpose and usually are not named.) Jack is a hound and looks a lot like a Pharaoh Hound; stand up pointy ears sleek nose long racer-like body. Check it out and let me know what you think he is?  So why 'Jack'?  when I first saw the three I thought that they were Jack Russel Terriers but as they got older they grew too big to be JRT's. But the idea stuck. So this one is Jack, the other all tan (male) dog is Russell and the multicolored female is Terry.  Get it? The other male and female are still warming up to me, especially when I come with treats. The stores here actually sell Pedigree dog treats which they love. Their kennel is just behind my bedroom window so I get to hear their antics all day and sometimes in the night. A loud yell out the window quiets things down.
I enjoy having them around especially since there is a novice whose job it is to clean their kennel and feed them.  Below is the picture of "the kids". I hope that the joy that came to you on Easter Sunday continues throughout the whole of the Easter Season. Peace and all good.  ODE  tim

Left to Right Jack, Terry and Russell

Prison Visit

Fr. Dismas Turinawe, OFM is the Guardian of the Novitiate in Kakoba, Uganda, where I live. He is a member of The Province of St. Francis in East Africa. His personal project is to visit those imprisoned at the three prisons in the Mbarara area. Myself and two novices accompanied him last Saturday on a visit to one prison in Kakkia (sp?). He makes two trips a week and brings different novices with him each time. It is part of their ministry experience of the Novitiate. He celebrated Mass for about 30 inmates. He also has helped with the inmates school fees but the resource for the money has dried up and it is not possible at this time. He is able to provided medicine when he can. More on that later.

The conditions in the prison are very primitive. There are only dirt floors and concrete walls. The place looks run-down but the men appear neatly dressed and clean in their bright yellow uniform shirts and shorts. Pants are also available but since it was a warm day most of the inmates were in shorts. The cloth also has a black pin stripe about a foot or so apart. It was meal time when we arrived so we had time to observe the main and only meal of the day. The inmates eat once a day. They were given a large bowl of maize (corn meal) which is cooked to a solid (sort of like mashed potatoes but thicker in consistency) and a large portion of cooked red beans. I saw many of the men walk back to their living areas with uneaten food. This was to be consumed later, or so I was told by the Novices. The Novices also informed me about the life in prison. The inmates work very hard in fields doing farm work and other manual labor. Individuals hire out the inmates through the government. The government is paid for this work but the inmates do not get paid. Their medical care is through another inmate who also is a nurse. If treatment or care is required the inmates are provided with this. Families are sometimes required to pay for any treatment received. Medication is not always provided and if the inmate does not have family they go without. That is why Fr. Dismas has added this to him ministry when funds allow.

I was struck with the attitude of the men I observed. They were polite and grateful for our presence. The worship space was a porch of a building that was about four feet wide and thirty feet long. It faced the main courtyard that lead to the “Kitchen” area and where the inmates obtained their food for the day. Despite the noise of men getting their food and the cramped conditions of the worship space the inmates were focused and participated fully in the Mass. My impressions of these inmates is not unlike my impression of inmates that I have worked with in the US. I guess the effects of incarceration, regardless of the environment, conditions and situation, are universal. In times of trouble men turn to their faith for consolation and a feeling of normalcy. One of the corporal works of mercy is to visit the imprisoned. I recognize you may not be in a position to do so but during this Lent please say a prayer for all people, Men and women, throughout the worldo who are in prison. Peace and all good. ODE tim

I want to tell you what is happening with the friars of St John the Baptist. During Lent they have been saving 1 dollar a day to be given to support my work in Uganda.  This includes medicine assistance for men in prison ( I will write about this tomorrow.)  and tuition assistance for Bachelor candidates at St Francis Counsellor Institute in Mbarara.  I wanted to take a minute and tell you how this money will be spent.  It takes about 5 million 550 thousand Uganda Shilling for one Bachelor degree in Counseling at the Institute (The Institute offers its degrees in association with Uganda Martyrs University, a Catholic University between Mbarara and the capital, Kampala.) This amount of money is equivalent to 1,650 dollars US.  Any money given will go along way to helping students pay their school fees and realize their dream to become counselors.  Counselling in Uganda is in its infancy in comparison to the US.  So any help given is helps a pioneering generation tow
ards self-help. Truly, this is a project that is self-sustaining.

Giving alms is a age-old Lenten practice.  Be generous because God has been so generous to you.  Peace and all good.   ODE    tim
P.S. Below is a picture of the center at its opening day.  The woman is Mary Moran who is the founder of the Center and Institute and beside her is President Museveni and beside him is the Archbishop of Mbarara.

Interesting Quote

I thought this quote fit well with my last reflection.

"...there are always choices to be made. Everyday, every hour offers the opportunity to make a decision that determines whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threaten to rob you of your self, your inner freedom, which determine whether or not  you have become a plaything of circumstances, renouncing freedom and dignity - to become Molded into the form of the typical moment."  V. Frankl   Man's Search for Meaning, 1993 pg 65-66

I returned Sunday from a weeks trip to Nairobi. The fourteen hour bus trip was difficult but I survived.  I hope all is well with  your and that your Lenten journey continues to be fruitful. Peace and all good.  ODE

ODE Omnes Donum Est - A rEReflection on Suffering

This title of this blog is a Latin phrase that translates, “All is Gift.” It has become a personal motto for me and the title of this blog. It carries great meaning for me and has meant different things for me at different times of my life. I first came up with the phrase for my solemn profession in 2000. At that time it referred to the great joy I was feeling to make my perpetual vows with the Friars Minor. A double fulfilling; the fulfilling of God's promise to me and my promise to God. At the time I knew it meant a great deal more for me. Since that time the idea that all is gift has come to reflect God's history or providence in my life. It is a witness to the fact that God has been present to me at all times, especially in difficult and mournful times. I believe that God does not send sorrow, pain and suffering. As it says in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 7:9)

”Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread?...If you who are evil, know how to give your children what it good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. Pain cannot be avoided in this life but suffering is something I choose. We will have sickness and death, loss and grief. A part of living is occasionally losing. Part of joy is sorrow and a part of peace is conflict. One cannot have one without the other. Granted life, joy and peace is preferred to loss, sorrow and conflict. I can hold on to life has hard as I can but eventually my life will be over, regardless of what I may try to prevent it. No one has yet come up with a way to defeat death, except Jesus. Which is my point in Omnes Donum Est. God is always present to turn my loss into life. When this earthly life is ended God is ready to show me eternal life, in which there is no fear or sorrow again. But God's gift is even more present than a future life in heaven. After all, we are still here on this earth and our pain is still present, all around us as it seems sometimes. How does God gift us in our present pain?

I believe that the answer lies in God's readiness to come to our aid. He wants to be of assistance to help us transform pain into joy. At daily prayers we pray, “Lord come to our aid.” Paul tells us,

“We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him” (Romans 8:28)

Through faith God turns everything to our good. We must, however, have faith and ask for help. We may not know what to ask for except to ease our pain. That is enough. The Spirit knows what we cannot express or what we cannot know to express. That is enough. That is all God needs from us to believe that he turns all things to good for those who believe in him. I am sure that most or even all of you have been through some very difficult times in your life. At the time of a trial I have asked myself, “How am I going to get through this?” And it was true, I did not know at the time. Yet, I continued to believe in the love of God for me. I have asked God, “Why did you let this happen?” I did not at the time connect God with help. It was only after a time that I saw God's action in my life by looking back at the past. How I managed to get thorough some hard times was by the loving presence of God and my final cry of, “HELP” when all other prayers seemingly went unanswered , this prayer was heard. I see that now. For a long time I sought answers to questions that could not be answered.

God gave us, a result of Adam's fall from grace, free will. Our grief and suffering is sometimes our own fault, sometimes it is inflicted upon us from others. Either way, a loving God does not send pain. A loving God cries with us in our pain. A loving God stands ready to lead us through our sorrow. God knows us because of the pain and death of his Son, Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus God knows how to help. It is because of Jesus we have a God with flesh and who knows what all fleshy beings experience, our joys and pains. So cast your cares upon Jesus because he knows our troubles and is ever ready to be there for us.

I look back on my life and I see how some truly marvelous things have happened as a result of God acting in my life. My father died when I was 8. It was hard growing up without a father. It was not common at that time to be a single parent family. So there was nobody for me to relate to who had a similar circumstance. I felt very much alone. Things became more difficult over the next four years, with abuse and poverty as additional factors along with my grief. I continued to go to church and receive the sacraments again not realizing the connection between the ease of my pain and the benefit of my prayers and belief. As an adult, I see now that through my simple faith, God kept me going and growing. I look back and I see that the person I am today is a direct result of the pain I went through. The suffering I went through was because I did not trust in God to take care of me, to come to my aid, to ease my pain.

So whatever problem or difficulty you are facing this Lent. Turn your face toward Jesus for he knows what is going on within you. He knows the pain and as you gaze upon his tortured body know that there is help, there is solace, there is a remedy. He will soothe anxiety and provide answers for tor the perplexed. There is help in Jesus for those who believe in him and his love and that All is Gift.

Remembering gives birth to belief and when I trust in my belief I have faith. I look back to help me understand and accept the present which in turns moves me with trust and faith into the future. God's time works for those who can see, for those who feel the rain and remember. There is goodness in floods, there is a benefit in hurricanes. Snow covers the ground and readies the earth to accept the new birth of spring as the dry and dusty earth drinks in the new rain. All is Gift, all from God is good. We must have eyes to see and a memory to see where we have been in order to see where we are going.

I presented this reflection to the Novices here in Uganda.  At the end I olayed a song, I Rember, I Believe by a called Sweet Honey in the Rock.  Here is a link to that song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUAbHhlOYhE.  Enjoy OED